After Death
by Shi no Megami 24
Summary: Lily was the gatekeeper who would guide lost souls. Duo could see her. What happens when he teaches her about living? Sakura was an undead lost soul. Her fiancee, Heero, was waiting for her to wake up.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Yay! Another new story by me. I know some of you are thinking, 'She started another story? Why? She's writing like a million others.' I'll tell ya why. Because I ADORE writing, and I just get so many ideas and I just want to get started on that idea before I lose it. Anyway, this is a bit different from my other ones so I hope you like it. Please tell me what you think.

**Disclaimer** I do not own any of the Gundam Wing characters, nor do I own Sakura, Jennifer or Michaela. They belongs to friends. I do however own Lily, so please don't bash her. People LOVE to bash her. Makes me sad. Anyway, on with the story.

Chapter 1

She'd had a life at one point, many years ago. Although that life was now lost to her, not a single trace of it left in her memory. Years passed by, and slowly the memory of her life faded. What was now was all that she knew. She was the gatekeeper who would guide other souls to where they wanted to go. When one would die, they would come across her and she would provide them with three choices. They could move onto Heaven and be reborn. They could remain a ghost and haunt any person of their choice. And last, they could take revenge on someone who once did them wrong, but then they would immediately go to Hell.

She hardly ever left her gate. She could not remember how long she had been doing this. All she knew was it had been a very long time. She never grew tired of it, never really given that chance. Spirits came and went daily, keeping her busy. She never complained, never questioned why she had to do this. It never occurred to her that it wasn't fair, that she herself could be living her own life instead of standing here guiding dead people. At least, not until that day when one small soul came walking up to her gate.

Lily's senses quickly picked up, her gaze immediately turning to the girl who had just walked through her doors. The girl was a bit taller than herself, although Lily was short to begin with. She had long waist length black hair with silver streaks in it, with ice blue eyes that shined brightly. Lily couldn't understand why this girl was here. It was not her time to die.

"Tsukino Sakura. Age twenty. Lived in Japan most of her life. Why are you here at my gate?"

Sakura blinked at the young woman who had spoken to her. "Wow. You know quite a bit huh?" Sakura grinned and looked the young woman up and down. She was small and petite but very pretty with long waist length black hair with red tips that she had pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes were a beautiful violet. "Should I not be here?"

"You are not dead, and yet your soul has found its way to my gate."

"Maybe I'm meant to die." Sakura shrugged and took a seat on the stairs that lead to the gate.

Lily shook her head. "No. Not for many years yet to come. You must go back."

"How do I do that? I think I'm in a coma." Sakura stared up at the young woman.

Lily was very confused by this. If this woman was in a coma, how on Earth had she made it down to the gate? She should be up on Earth, watching over her own body there, but instead she's here, ready to die. "If you've made it to my gate, then you have nine days to find a way back. If not, then you must make one of three choices."

"And what choices are those?" Sakura asked.

"One, you can go to Heaven and be reborn. Two, you can remain a ghost and haunt anyone of your choice. Last, you can take revenge upon someone, but then you would go to Hell."

Sakura blinked, but she did not look scared of death. Instead she said, "If I am to die in nine days then my choice would be to go to Heaven and be reborn."

xxx

"Heero, how is she?" Duo leaned back against the wall as his roommate walked through the door.

"She still hasn't woken up. The doctor said that she may be in a coma." Heero sighed and took a seat on the couch, Duo taking a seat in the chair across from him.

"Did they say if there was any chance in her waking up?"

Heero nodded. "If she doesn't wake up in the next week, there may be no chance of her ever waking up."

"I'm really sorry to hear that." Duo looked down sadly. He had known Sakura for quite some time now, and he considered her one of his best friends. He looked over to his roommate and sighed. He knew Heero was taking this hard. That was his fiancé in a coma. Duo wasn't sure what the man would do if he lost the love of his life. Before Sakura had entered their lives, Heero had been a very anti-social and suicidal person. While he had remained anti-social, he spoke a little more and he stopped trying to kill himself all the time.

"She'll be alright." Duo told his friend. "Sakura is a strong person. She'll make it through this."

"Hn." Heero nodded, and then got up, making his way to his room. He shut the door behind him, leaving Duo to sit there alone. Duo stared at the man's door and sighed.

"Sakura, please come back."

**AN: So? What did ya think? Reviews please!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Heero was out with his friends, having been dragged out by Duo of course. Rolling his eyes he reached for his drink and gulped it down. As the music in the background slowly faded away, only was it then that he'd heard his cell phone going off. Excusing himself from his friends, he made his way outside and quickly picked it up._

_"Hello?"_

_"Heero?"_

_"Mizuno?" He blinked upon hearing the woman's voice. "Why are you calling me? If you're looking for Trowa why not just call his phone?" Heero didn't mean to sound rude. It's just how he was._

_"No… I'm calling for you. It's about Sakura."_

_Heero was silent for quite some time. He had just seen Sakura a couple of hours ago about to head out with her friends Jennifer and Michaela. "What about her? Isn't she still with you?"_

_He heard her sigh on the other end of the phone. Slowly a knot started to form in the pit of his stomach. Fear inched its way up, but he didn't want to make assumptions. He knew she was alright. She had to be alright. This was Sakura they were talking about. She knew very well how to take care of herself. It felt like ages before the woman finally spoke._

_"Heero… there was… something happened. Sakura's in the hospital right now. Can you please come here?"_

Heero stared out the window, angry that he had not been there to help his fiancée. She now lay in the hospital, unable to wake up. Heero wanted to be there for her, but seeing her weakened him. It hurt, and Heero Yuy didn't feel pain. He shook his head and rolled to the other side of his bed so that way he wasn't facing the window. Instead now he stared at a picture of him and Sakura. It was one that she had forced him to take with her. Reaching out, he grabbed the picture then slammed it down so it no longer faced him.

"You better come back to me Sakura."

xxx

Sakura sat on the stairs staring up at the ceiling, wishing there had been tiles for her to count. She was very bored now and just wanted something to do. Lily wasn't a very talkative person, and it was bringing her down. She had supposedly fallen into a coma up on Earth, and had somehow managed to find her way here, to Lily's gate where she would guide souls to where they should be, or wanted to be. Lily had told the woman that she didn't belong here, and so neither could understand why she was here. Though Sakura thought it took Lily by surprise that death did not bother the woman. But then again, Sakura took many people by surprise.

Sighing heavily, she turned her gaze up towards the woman, her chin planted in the palm of her hands. Lily was in the middle of talking to another spirit that had made its way to the gate. Sakura listened as the shorter woman listed off the three choices that one spirit had. She then watched as that spirit made it to the other side of the room and plopped himself down on the ground. She had been here not even for an hour, and the woman was being driven to madness with depression. Rolling her eyes she pushed herself up and turned to face Lily.

"I'm dead."

Lily blinked and turned to face the woman. "No. Not yet dear."

Sakura rose an eyebrow at the woman. "How old are you?"

Lily blinked yet again and gave the woman a confused look. "I… I don't know anymore. When you've lived as long as I have, time doesn't matter anymore."

Sakura's eyes widened as she fell into shock. "Wow. You must be really old."

Lily nodded. "I've never really thought about it but yes… I guess so."

Sakura hated when the woman spoke, but it was so much better than sitting in silence. When she spoke, her voice was cold and monotone, like she hadn't had any fun in years. In many ways this woman reminded her of Heero.

There was a sudden tingle of loneliness as she continued to sit there. Maybe that was why she didn't like it when Lily spoke. It brought back memories of when she was alive. Wait… what was she saying? She was still alive… on Earth. But how was she supposed to get back? Frustrated, she let out a long sigh. This caught the smaller woman's attention.

"You can go back you know… to see how things are going."

Sakura stared up at the woman, and suddenly her eyes narrowed. "You tell me this now? I've been sitting her for an hour now, bored out of my mind!" She rolled her eyes as she stood up and stretched. "Thanks for the information Ms. Gatekeeper."

Lily only shook her head, ignoring the woman's attitude. "I never said that you had to stay here."

"Sure. So which way is the exit?"

Lily stared at her for a long moment and finally responded with, "The way you came."

Sakura stood there. She stood for quite a while, staring at Lily, not once tearing her eyes from her. The shorter woman only stared back, the man in the corner watching them. It seemed like they were having a staring contest and if one broke away, the other would kill them. Finally Sakura moved, tearing her eyes away from Lily, whose gaze stayed glued to her.

"Mou! You're so difficult. You are just like him! I swear!"

Lily only blinked, still staring at her. She did not understand the woman, nor did she really care to. She wanted to either send this woman back, or send her off to Heaven as soon as possible. Lily did not get to know people, and she most certainly did not let them get to know her. Her job was to stay here and guard the gate, not to make friends, and it seemed like that's what this woman wanted.

Sakura was intrigued yet annoyed by the gatekeeper. "Aren't you going to ask who I mean?"

"No," was her simple answer.

"Don't you care?"

"No."

"Do you do anything besides guard this gate?"

"Why should I?"

Again, Sakura stared, thoughts running through her head. This woman was weird, and it just seemed like she had no life and yet at the same time she had a very long life. Putting on a huge smile, she ran up the stairs and grabbed the violet eyed woman's hand. "Come with me. Come back onto Earth with me."

Lily immediately pulled away from the woman, her eyes narrowing as she stared at her. It was probably the first time since Sakura had arrived that she'd seen the girl show any type of expression besides confusion. "Come on. It can't be that bad to go to Earth."

"My place is here, in front of my gate. If I am not here then who will guide the souls when they arrive?"

"They can wait a few minutes. Come on! Live a little."

Again, Lily's eyes narrowed. "Live? You say to live yet look around you! Dead! I'm dead! He's dead! You're a wandering spirit who is going to die! So live? How am I supposed to live?"

Sakura was taken by surprise by Lily's sudden outburst, but then a smile slowly crept up. "So you do care."

Lily stepped back. "What?" Never, in all the time she had been here had she ever shown so much emotion. She wondered what had just gotten into her. Was it this woman? She was so confused. First, this undead spirit walks into her territory and now this unexpected guest starts pulling emotions from her that she never knew she had. Lily regained herself and sighed. "I will guide you back to Earth and show you where your body rests. Afterwards I will return here and you can wander back and forth freely."

It wasn't what Sakura was looking for, but she wasn't going to push the matter any further. As she was slowly starting to realize, the Lily person was going to be a delicate matter. Slowly she would work her way into getting the gatekeeper to open up more. Slowly.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Heero stood in the hospital hallway, all his friends urging him to sit down. But he didn't want to sit down. His nerves wouldn't allow him to. Sakura could be dying, and they wanted him to sit down. What nonsense._

_"Heero, chill! Sakura with be alright," came Duo's concerned voice._

_"You don't know that," Heero told the man. After Heero had received the phone call from Jen on the phone, they had all immediately rushed over to the hospital._

_"Heero?" Jen approached the man. Heero only stared at her, waiting for any type of information. "We've gotten the bleeding to stop. She was hurt very badly Heero, but we don't know what caused it."_

_"How do you not know?" Heero asked the woman. "You were there with her, weren't you?"_

_"No. I'm sorry. She'd walked away for a bit," Jen calmly explained._

_"Well, then can't you ask her what happened?"_

_"I'm sorry Heero. I can't. Sakura… she… She's in a coma."_

_Heero suddenly felt some sort of weight or whatnot fall on him, forcing him to take a seat. "Sakura… is in a coma?"_

_"I'm really sorry. There's a chance if she doesn't wake up in about a week, she may never wake up."_

_Heero's eyes widened as he turned his gaze up at Jen. The woman looked hurt, almost like she blamed herself for what had happened. Of course she did. Heero knew she did. She had been with her. If she hadn't of let Sakura out of her sight, maybe this would have never happened. He only sighed and leaned forward, placing his face in his hands, his elbows resting against his legs for support._

_"It's not your fault Mizuno."_

"Heero! Are you just gonna stay in your room all day?" Duo asked from Heero's doorway. The Japanese man glared up at him. Duo only rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Do what you want. I don't care." Shaking his head, he turned around and disappeared down the hall and into his own room.

Heero sighed as he finally sat up and stared out the window. Duo was right. He needed to do something. This wasn't like him. Heero wasn't the type to lay around all day. He always had something to do. But what could he do? He needed to go see Sakura.

xxx

Jen stood over her friend Sakura, staring down at the woman in a coma. Reaching down, she took Sakura's hand in her own. A small tear streamed its way down her cheek. With her free hand, she quickly wiped it away. It had only been for a moment, but that moment had been very important. If only Jen hadn't of let her walk away. If only she'd remained by her side.

"It's not your fault you know."

Startled, Jen quickly let go of Sakura's hand, her gaze falling to the doorway. She let out a breath of relief as she stared at her friend. "Micki… How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." Micki shrugged away from the doorframe and made her way into the room. "Ya know, if you're to blame then both of us are to blame. We were both there."

Jen sighed and returned her gaze to Sakura. "She might die."

Micki shook her head and took a seat in a chair next to Sakura's bed. "She could. She might not. My real concern is who did this to her."

"You really think she was attacked?"

"I have no doubt. Sakura's not clumsy enough to mess herself up this badly."

Jen only nodded as she continued to stare down at the unconscious woman. She brushed her bangs off the woman's face. "I won't blame Heero if he never forgives us."

"What's there to forgive? You didn't do anything wrong." The two women turned to face Heero who now stood in the doorway. He was staring at his fiancé with eyes like they'd never seen before. He looked scared. Jen hated to see him like that. Not because it hurt, but more because it kind of freaked her to know that Heero could be scared, or at least look scared.

Jen was about to look away when she noticed Duo standing behind him. "Duo…"

Micki was surprised at the mentioned name and leaned over to see where Jen was looking. Sure enough, the braided man was there as well. Duo shoved his way past the Japanese man and made his way over to Sakura's bed. After staring down at her for some time, a smile finally lit up that depressed look of his.

"Yo! Hey Sakura, ya gotta hurry it up and wake the hell up, otherwise anti social suicidal maniac over here just might turn suicidal again, if ya catch my drift." He grinned and took a seat on the side of her bed. "Sides… who's gonna make fun of all the idiots out there with me now? With ya in a coma life's just borin' now. These supposed friends of mine… they're nothin' man. Borin' as hell." A laugh escaped his mouth, until he felt a very hard whack on the back of his head. Groaning, he turned up to stare at Heero.

"Urusai baka."

"Man, that's just mean." Duo made sure to fake a pout as he made his way up and to the door. "Be seein' ya Sakura… When Mr. Strict isn't around." He then disappeared out the door.

Jen rolled her eyes, stifling laughter. Duo never ceased to amuse her. At least someone was keeping their hopes up. She turned over to Heero who was now staring down at Sakura, her hand in his. A small smile crossed her face as she decided the two needed some time alone. She made her way to the door, Micki not too far behind. Shutting the door behind them, Jen sighed and leaned against the wall.

"You're worried," she heard Duo tell her. There was a small smile as she turned to face him.

"You too." She pushed away from the wall.

"Who isn't?" It was Micki this time. "But I have a feeling Sakura will pull out of this one."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Okay, please don't kill me! I know it's been a while. I'm sorry!!! Very very extremely awfully sorry! So, since I got my laptop back I've actually been going through my more popular stories and updating each of them. I wanted to make sure each had an update before I posted for anything, that way it was fair to all my reviewers. I hope you enjoy. And once again, very very sorry.

Chapter 4

Jen had gone off to take care of some other patients, while Micki had also returned to work. Heero sat next to Sakura's bed, hand in his own. She'd looked horrible hooked up to all those machines. He couldn't bear to see her like this anymore. The man stared down at the ground, unable to look at her. No matter how many times he'd called out to her, or prayed that she'd wake up soon, she never once opened her eyes. He wasn't sure what he'd do if Sakura never woke up. She had changed him into something better.

_Heero stared down at the book in front of him. This was a stupid assignment. 'What was the meaning of life?' Good question, but he doubted anyone could actually answer that. In fact, he doubted there was even a real meaning. Life was just that… life. It wasn't supposed to be questioned or explained. But if the Professor really wanted an explanation, this is what his would be. The meaning of life was just for people to suffer._

_Duo stared at his roommate and sighed. He could pretty much guess what the man was thinking. They had after all grown up together. "Oy Heero, stop staring at the damn book and just write your report already."_

_"Hn."_

_Duo rolled his eyes. That was all he ever got out of the man. One little grunt. Not even a full word. Was it so much to ask that the man actually speak every now and then? Well, of course it was._

_There was a knock on the door. Standing from his seat, Duo headed over and answered, revealing a black haired beauty with silver streaks and ice blue eyes. Smiling, Duo greeted the girl and ushered her in._

_"Sakura! Great seeing you! What brings you over here?"_

_"Well…" The girl smiled, holding back a laugh as the man pushed her over to the table and practically forced her into a seat. "Since you weren't in class today I thought I'd bring you the notes. We have a project due next week, and I didn't want you to go partner-less so I volunteered myself."_

_"Oh, you are the greatest friend and study buddy ever!" The man laughed as he reached over and pulled her into a tight hug. "What would I ever do without you?"_

_The girl laughed, but then blinked when Heero caught her eye. Smiling softly at the man, she nodded. "Hello."_

_"Oh!" Duo smiled. "Heero, this is Sakura. We share a couple of classes together. Sakura, this is Heero, my roommate."_

_Sakura nodded again. "A pleasure to meet you Heero."_

_Heero blinked and nodded his head at her as well. "Hn."_

_Smiling, she looked over at the paper he was writing. "The meaning of life huh? Hm… you really think its meaning is for people to suffer?" She stared into the man's eyes. "That's harsh, isn't it?"_

_"Then what do you think the meaning of life is?" he asked the girl in a not so friendly tone._

_"Hm… Good question." She put her finger to her chin, taping gently as she thought about this. "The meaning of life… I think the meaning of life is just to enjoy it." She smiled at the almost shocked expression on the man's face. "Grasp everything that is thrown at you, good or bad, and enjoy it as best you can. Life is a gift."_

"Thinking about the old times?"

Heero blinked, a little surprised as he stared up at Duo. He hadn't even heard the man come in.

"Sorry… you just… had that faraway gaze in your eyes." Duo took a seat next to his friend and stared down at Sakura. "Still nothing?"

"Yeah." Heero stood and headed for the door. "I'm getting coffee. You want something?"

Duo smiled. "Anything with chocolate!"

"Hn." The man then left the room and headed down the hall.

Duo stared down at the woman on the bed. "Sakura… what's taking you so long to wake up? Do you really want to leave Heero like this?" He reached out and took the woman's hand into his own. "It's heartbreaking watching him. Please… come back to us."

xxx

Sakura stood there at the end of the stairs, waiting for Lily. The woman had been ready to take her away a few minutes ago, but then some other spirit had wandered in through the gates. Frustrated and ready to head back, she started pacing the bottom stair. She was sick of being here, and was definitely bored out of her mind. Not to mention, she really didn't like being around this woman. Her attitude annoyed her to no end.

Finally, seeing the woman heading down the stairs towards her, Sakura stopped her pacing and grinned up at her. "Can we go now?"

Lily only rolled her eyes. "Yes. We can go now."

"Awesome! Onward then!" She grinned at the annoyed look on Lily's face, silently cheering to herself. Lily took her hand and she was lead towards the gate. She watched as the further past the gates they got, the more their bodies started to turn into shiny little colorful lights. It felt odd, but at the same time she found it very amusing.

xxx

Duo stood from his seat, placing Sakura's hand down gently. He'd decided he couldn't really sit here much longer. He was going to go find Heero when to the other side of the bed bright colorful lights started to appear and suddenly Sakura and some other girl stood there. Duo couldn't believe his eyes.

"Sakura?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Duo! Hey! How ya been?" Sakura grinned and then looked down at her body. "Whoa. Weirdness! Man, I'm totally messed up!"

"Sakura? I-I don't understand. What… Does this mean…"

"She's not dead," Lily answered before he could finish that question. "But she will be if she doesn't find a way to return to her body in nine days."

"Nine days?" Duo blinked and stared at the new girl. "Wait… Who are you?"

"That isn't for you to know." Lily walked around the bed and over to the standing man. She circled around him, looking him up and down.

"W-what are you doing?"

"How can you see me?" She stopped and stared up at the man. "You shouldn't be able to see me." She stepped back, eyes narrowing, gaze still glued on the man. "I don't understand."

"So I can see you! So what?" Duo wasn't sure he liked this woman's attitude. She was pretty yes, but he quickly got past the pretty when she started speaking. "Anyway, past the whole seeing you part… How does Sakura get back to her body?"

"She needs to remember how she ended up here."

"Remember?" Sakura looked down at her body. "Hm… now that you mention it… I really don't remember how I ended up like this." She looked to Lily. "Could you maybe give me a hint?"

Lily shook her head. "No. No hint."

"Great. So you can't give me a hint. Then how do I remember?"

Lily smirked. Sakura found it a little odd on the woman, and frightening. "You may be a spirit now, but you are also free to move around."

"Oh, so I get to go gather clues. Yay for me."

"Sounds like you got a long whole nine days ahead of you!" Duo laughed.

"Shut up! I hope this doesn't take all nine days."

"You better pray it doesn't," Lily commented. "Otherwise you're dead."

"Dude! Are you serious? She really only had nine days? She dies after nine days?"

"Who dies after nine days?" Duo spun to see Heero standing at the door, looking at him strangely. "Who are you talking to?" Duo blinked. Heero didn't see them. He couldn't see Sakura or the rude pretty girl with her. He was blind to them. Well, he wasn't going to tell him he was talking to two spirits. Heero would just think he was crazy. He thought that enough of the time as it was.

"Oh, no one." He smiled at the man. "Look, I'm gonna head out. There're some things I forgot I had to take care of." Grinning, he walked past the man and out the door, Sakura and Lily following behind him.

The three left the hospital and he looked back at the two women. Looking to Lily he asked, "Can I at least get a name?"

The woman stared at him for a moment before finally answering with, "Lily."

xxx

Heero stared down at his fiancée. When Duo had said she only had nine days, was he was talking about Sakura? If so, how did he know? And who had he been talking to? See, Heero knew Duo was crazy, yes, but he wasn't insane. If Duo had been talking to someone, there must have really been somewhere there, so why wouldn't he tell him who?

He took Sakura's hand into his own. "Sakura, what's going on? What did he mean you only had nine days? I need to know. Am I going to lose you?"

"Heero?"

The man released Sakura's hand and spun his gaze to the doorway where Jen stood. "Um, did you need something Mizuno?"

"No, I just… did you say something about nine days?"

Heero blinked and nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"Then did Sakura meet the Gatekeeper?"

"Gatekeeper? What Gatekeeper?"

Jen blinked. He had to know who she was talking about, right? "Of death."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Heero sat with Jen in the cafeteria. He watched her for a moment as she picked up a warm cup and took a sip of her tea. Setting the cup down, she looked at the man, eyes full of concern. She wondered where she should start, if she should explain everything to the man.

"Well?" she heard him ask.

Jen only nodded. "You see, the Gatekeeper guards the gate."

"What gate? And what does this have to do with Sakura?"

"Hold on." She understood Heero was upset, but she did not like to be rushed. "The Gatekeeper… She lives an unfortunate life, never leaving that world, never having a life of her own… until the next Gatekeeper comes along. In most cases, it's centuries before that happens. She loses her life, and the life before that."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, she looses the human inside herself. All she knows is death. All she knows is to protect that Gate, to protect the spirits. She knows people… Who they are… What they are. How they died. How they lived their lives. Everything. But she doesn't know about her own life. It's wiped completely from her memory."

"Why would they do that?"

"So she could live as their puppet. So she isn't curious. So she doesn't disobey them… Mostly so she doesn't get hurt." Jen shook her head.

"What do you mean get hurt?"

"Hold on. Anyway, all spirits enter her world, ready to step through the gate, but they have nine days to make a decision."

"Decision? What decision?"

"One, you can go to Heaven and be reborn. Two, you can remain a ghost and haunt anyone of your choice. Last, you can take revenge upon someone, but then you would go to Hell."

"Go to Hell?"

"Don't worry." Jen smiled and took another sip of her tea. "Sakura isn't the type to take revenge, no matter what. That's what she has you for. But see, the thing is, the Gatekeeper only deals with dead people."

Heero stared at the woman, trying to mask his worry. "Does that mean that…?"

"Sakura may already be dead."

Heero shook his head, unwilling to believe this. "But Duo clearly said she's dies in nine days."

Jen blinked, setting her cup down. "What?" She leaned back in her chair, thinking it over. "That's impossible. No one can enter the Gatekeeper's world unless they're dead…" She was confused now. "So that means that there is a chance to save Sakura… I'm going to need to speak with Duo." Jen blinked when she saw the worried and scared expressions on Heero's face. They were very unusual, but she's seen enough of it the past couple of days to not feel weird about it. "Don't worry. If there is one thing that the Gatekeeper does do is take care of her spirits. She's very protective over them, and I'm sure if there were one to wander into her world that wasn't dead, she'd do everything to return that person… Even if it meant leaving her world for a little bit."

Heero stared up at the girl. "Is that a bad thing?"

Jen nodded. "See, the reason that the Gatekeeper is told never to leave her world, there are people outside it that want her powers, the power to control spirits. While the Gatekeeper doesn't actually control spirits since they disappear for good after nine days if they don't make a decision, she has access to the other worlds, like Hell and Heaven. There you can find long-lasting spirits. They can be controlled."

All this information was confusing Heero. He had so many questions. He heard Jen stand and looked up at her. She was being paged. Of course, he'd already taken up enough of her time. As he watched her head towards the door he thought of one more question that he couldn't let wait.

"Mizuno."

Blinking, she turned back at the man. "Hai?"

"How do you know so much about the Gatekeeper?"

Blinking once again she laughed. "Next time." She then disappeared through the door, leaving Heero there to sit alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Duo, Lily and Sakura all stood outside of the building where Sakura had her accident. Each stared up at it as Sakura tried to recall what had happened that night. Walking into the large building, Sakura remembered that there had been a huge party that night. Pictures drifted across her mind, almost like a storybook. She had been standing over by a table in the corner, grabbing herself a drink when her phone had gone off. Wanting to get away from all the noise so she would be able to hear whoever was calling her, she found the nearest balcony and walked out onto it.

Sakura looked around, trying to remember which balcony it was. As soon as she found it, she ran in that direction, running out onto the balcony.

"Sakura, what is it? What do you remember?" she heard Duo ask her.

Sakura shook her head and continued concentrating.

_It was dark that night, and Sakura was feeling a little giddy from all the excitement, and a bit she guessed from the alcohol as well. Closing the doors behind her, the music was drowned out into the background. Pulling out her phone, she stared at it and blinked. She didn't recognize this number at all. Who could be calling her?_

_Flipping it open, she placed it against her ear. "Moshi moshi?"_

_"Aw, you actually answered. That's so kind of you."_

_Sakura blinked when she heard the voice. She didn't just hear it on the phone. She…_

_Turning around, Sakura dropped her phone, stumbling back against the banister. The guy she stared at shut his phone and placed it back into his pocket. "So you're the one." He grinned. She couldn't see him well since it was dark out and she had shut the door, shielding most the light. When she had come out here she had sworn she was the only person on the balcony. Where had he come from? Was he hiding from her?_

_"W-what do you want?" she asked the man._

_"What do I want?" He laughed. "Would you understand even if I told you?" An evil smirk appeared on the man's face as he moved towards Sakura._

_Sakura looked around, trying to find any way to escape, but there was none. She gasped when the man grabbed her by the throat, squeezing tightly. "After all these years, to think that I finally found you."_

_Tears stung Sakura's eyes. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to move, do something, anything, but her body wouldn't let her. Why?_

_"You're wondering why you can't move, aren't you?" the man asked her. "It's me. I'm the one who won't allow you to move." He moved closer to the woman. "You can't escape me."_

_"Please," she pleaded with the man. "Why?"_

_"Why?" He grinned. "Well, you are about to die, so I guess there's no harm in telling you. I'm doing this to get the Gatekeeper."_

_"Gatekeeper?" Sakura was confused. "I don't understand."_

_"You do! You have to! You're the only one with the ability to go see her!"_

_"No! I don't…" She let out a small cry as his grip around her throat tightened even more._

_"You do!" he said angrily. "I know you do." He blinked and his grip loosened around her neck, but he still didn't release her. Taking a deep breath he smiled. "I see. So you don't even know about it. You see, many years ago there was a wanderer. Her ability was to wander between the land of the living and the land of the dead. That wanderer often went to go visit the Gatekeeper. It was said that the ability had died out, but I wouldn't believe it. Now I know I was right not to give up. You are that wanderer… Reborn!"_

_Sakura's eyes widened. She could wander between the living and the dead? "No!" Somehow, deep inside her, she knew that she could not let this man take that ability from her. Pushing away from him, she felt herself fall from the balcony. She could see the surprised expression on the man's face. She closed her eyes and…_

Sakura gasped as tears came to her eyes. She turned to Lily. "You have to go back! You have to go back now!"

Lily blinked as she stared at the woman. "What do you mean? What did you see? Tell me!"

Sakura shook her head. "No! Just listen to me! Please, you have to go back or…"

"It's too late." The three all turned their gaze to the doorway of the balcony, a young man standing there, a smirk clear on his face. "So it's you… The Gatekeeper."


End file.
